Introduced to New Zealand in the 1880s, as an ornamental vine, arajula sericifera, or moth plant as it is commonly called, is a significant danger to our country’s unique native flora.
Moth plant is incredibly invasive. Flowers turn into fruit (gourds) which may contain up to 500 seeds.These seeds are attached to little silken like parachutes and can be spread up to 30km away on the wind. Each little seed has the potential to grow into a new vine which is why moth plant is such a problem.
Fortunately, there’s a Facebook support group to help people report moth plant sightings and learn how to kill moth plant wherever they find it. Known as S.T.A.M.P. (Society Totally Against Moth Plant), it’s a group made up of volunteers whose main goal is to detect and destroy any signs of araujia sericifera. S.T.A.M.P. volunteers are working in the Ponsonby News area but greater awareness and more volunteers are needed. You can check if S.T.A.M.P. has a record of moth plant having grown on your property by becoming a S.T.A.M.P. member and looking at the current map on the Facebook page (Files / Moth Plant Maps).
If you see moth plant you can either email the location to mothplantlocations@gmail.com or contact S.T.A.M.P. directly via its Facebook page. Sightings are logged on to the online map, and volunteers then aim to visit sites where moth plant has been identified as growing. Volunteers try to educate people about the dangers of having moth plant growing on their property and teach people how to kill any moth plants they have growing. If you have found an Auckland Council moth plant brochure in your letterbox recently, it is likely that moth plant has been sighted on your property or there is an adjacent property where moth plant went to seed and your property has possibly been invaded as a result.
At this time of year, moth plant is in flower so it is both easy to spot and quick and easy to kill. The flowers are little, white, star-shaped (five petals) flowers which may have a pinkish tinge. If you tear a leaf off a vine, both ends will ooze a milky white sap. This sap can be an irritant, and some people are highly allergic to it, so if you have identified moth plant, before you do anything else put on gloves!
The easiest way to kill a vine is just to dig or pull the entire root right out of the ground and hook the root up around the host tree. This breaks the nutrient flow to the vine and quickly kills it. If you leave it, and let the flowers turn into fruit (the gourd seed pods), you must first kill the vine and then collect every gourd and put them in the rubbish. Don’t put them in your compost or leave them lying around.
A local S.T.A.M.P. volunteer told me that she’d like to see more local people have a greater awareness of the problem of moth plant in our area, and to take a more active role in controlling it. (KERRY LEE)
For more information, please visit the S.T.A.M.P. Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/234572443294360/
And to report a sighting of moth plant, E: mothplantlocations@gmail.com
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